Shloka 91
Karma, Non-Violence, Tīrtha & Gaṅgā Merit, Vaiṣṇava Protection, Śālagrāma Worship, and Ekādaśī as Deliverance
इह चैव स्त्रियो धन्याः शीलस्य परिरक्षणात् । शीलभंगे च नारीणां यमलोकः सुदारुणः
iha caiva striyo dhanyāḥ śīlasya parirakṣaṇāt | śīlabhaṃge ca nārīṇāṃ yamalokaḥ sudāruṇaḥ
اسی دنیا میں جو عورتیں اپنے شیل (عفت و اخلاق) کی حفاظت کرتی ہیں وہ مبارک سمجھی جاتی ہیں؛ مگر جب شیل ٹوٹ جائے تو عورتوں کے لیے یم لوک نہایت ہولناک ہو جاتا ہے۔
Unspecified (narratorial/teaching voice within Svarga-khaṇḍa, Adhyaya 31)
Concept: Guarding śīla is praised as auspicious; breaking it is portrayed as leading to severe post-mortem suffering.
Application: Choose companions carefully; cultivate boundaries, truthful speech, and self-restraint; seek atonement (prāyaścitta) and devotional repair when lapses occur.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A woman stands at a crossroads: one path leads to a bright household shrine with lamp and calm, the other to a dark, iron-gated Yamaloka with looming attendants. The scene is not sensational but symbolic—virtue as a protective aura, transgression as a shadow that thickens into fear.","primary_figures":["woman (symbolic devotee/householder)","Yama (distant)","Yamadūtas (shadowy attendants)"],"setting":"Threshold between a lamp-lit home courtyard and a storm-darkened, otherworldly gate; moral choice visualized as two diverging landscapes.","lighting_mood":"moonlit","color_palette":["charcoal black","ashen gray","lamp-gold","deep maroon","pale moon-silver"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: symbolic diptych—left side a serene woman near a household altar with gold halo-like aura, right side a dark Yamālaya gate with stylized Yamadūtas; heavy gold leaf on the virtuous side, rich reds/greens, and subdued blacks on the warning side; ornate borders emphasizing moral contrast.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: lyrical yet cautionary scene with a woman in modest attire at a forked path, delicate trees and architecture; the Yamaloka side rendered in cool grays and indigo washes, the virtuous side in warm dawn tones; refined expressions conveying inner resolve and apprehension.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: strong outlines, the woman centered with expressive eyes, background split into warm yellow-red home sanctum and dark blue-black Yama gate; Yamadūtas stylized, not grotesque; traditional mural symmetry and pigment palette.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: moral allegory framed by lotus and floral borders; the virtuous side filled with lotus motifs and gold patterns, the Yama side with thorny vine motifs and dark indigo; peacocks subdued, emphasizing caution; intricate textile-like detailing."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low temple drum","distant thunder","conch shell (faint)","heavy silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: चैव → च + एव; शीलभंगे → शील + भङ्गे; सुदारुणः → सु + दारुणः
FAQs
It teaches that safeguarding śīla (moral character/ethical discipline) brings blessedness, while violating it leads to severe karmic consequences symbolized by Yama’s realm.
Yama is the lord of death and moral judgment in Hindu tradition; Yamaloka represents post-death reckoning and the painful consequences of harmful or unethical actions.
No—its emphasis is primarily ethical (dharma/śīla) and karmic consequence, rather than devotion (bhakti) or ritual (karma-kāṇḍa).